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Nutritionist Fred Amese has advised people who want to shed some weight and stay fit to substantially reduce their intake of sugar and better still replace sugar with sweet fruits.

Fred Amese highlighted that natural sugars found in fruits have certain nutrients but when sugar is refined, there is no nutritional value. There is zero nutrient in refined sugar and all you get are calories. It is called empty calories because you are getting calories that are not accompanied by any nutritional value


Mr. Amese explained that putting white sugar in a meal does not add any nutritional value to the food apart from its sweet taste and calories.

“Refined sugars have become components of our diet to the extent that it is difficult for many people to stop using them altogether but as much as people are interested in the taste, it is advisable to use other alternatives that will provide the sweet taste and some nutritional value” Fred Amese stated.

The nutritionist mentioned that there are a lot of sweet fruits that have natural sugars and nutritional values such as dates which can be blended and added to meals to sweeten them instead of refined sugar. “In that way you also get the benefit of the nutritional values in the date” he added

Fred Amese revealed on 3FM Sunrise Morning Show that the glycemic index in refined sugar is 100%, a figure representing the relative ability of a carbohydrate food to increase the glucose level in the blood, thus; refined sugar increases your blood sugar level by a hundred percent. “When you are taking refined sugar your blood sugar will pick up suddenly and your body is forced to produce insulin to reduce the level of sugar that has increased in your blood.

According to the nutritionist, the sudden intake and the sudden decrease create a vicious cycle because the sugar level has suddenly gone down and due to the extra insulin the body has to produce, the body will require extra sugars again.

When that happens, the body is given more sugar than required and when the body has extra calories, the body deals with it by turning them into fat and stores in the body.

Nutritionist Fred Amese stressed that the 3FM Fat2Fit Weight Loss Challenge is timely, especially coming from the festive season when a lot of people had overindulged and entreated all those who are embarking on a weight loss journey to in addition to the workouts to reduce their intake of refined sugar significantly.

“If you are doing your weight loss exercises and not checking the amount of white sugar you are taking into your system, you may not be doing the right thing because the extra calories will be converted into stored fat in your body and your effort to shed weight will be defeated.